WOSU News
(2008-09-08)
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Dr. Frankenstein had his Igor, but some of today's scientists have found that one assistant just won't do for some projects, they need a small army. When Ohio Historical Society natural historian Bob Glotzhober and a few other researchers decided they needed to survey dragonflies and damselflies in Ohio, they knew they'd need help.
"We sent letters out to school teachers, you know biology teachers, naturalists around the state at metroparks, some of the different things like audobon societies and things like that . . . and got responses back." Says Glotzhober
Over the years, Ohio citizens from all kinds of backgrounds have signed up.
"We have retired schoolteachers, we have business folks who make a business trip and find time in the middle to go chasing dragonflies with cameras. All sorts folks of from all walks of life." Glotzhober says.
One of those volunteers is Sharon Givan, who's been helping out since she moved to Ohio a few years ago. Today she's taking a break from the dragonflies to help catalogue the Society's butterfly collection; she also brought what looks like an empty film container with her.
"Every time that I come in here, I bring in samples of bugs that I've collected from my garden, and we look at them under the microscope, and it's just fun. The insects themselves are just so intriguing, they're so beautiful, most of them." Givan says.
But when it comes to dragonflies, Givan has turned to collecting photographs rather than insects. In part, it's because handling those big butterfly nets can be a little tricky, especially when you're trying to catch an insect that can rocket by at 35 miles an hour.
"You can't just go out there and swing it and expect to catch anything. It's a certain technique, it's not that difficult, but I'm just, I haven't had enough experience doing it q: But you enjoy trying? Oh, yes, it's always a thrill if you get one." Says Givan.
The turn to collecting photographs has become widespread; instead of a pinned specimen, a photograph is often used as a county or state record documentation of a species that had never been observed in the county or state before.
"Here's some photographs of some things that I've either photographed in my own yard, these are just from this year, or out in the field. This photograph was taken, and became a county record for that particular species in that particular county." Says Givan.
With the help of volunteers, Glotzhober's database has grown to over 27,000 records, and they're still making new discoveries there were 18 new county records last year. Since they started the survey in 1991, the group has established hundreds of new county records, and found 8 species that were previously unknown in Ohio, including a couple that might not be here without a little help from us.
"A number of species are turning up, including one last year, well, in the last two years there have been two very southern species that have shown up in Ohio, quite possibly a result of global warming. Kind of hard to prove that indefinitely, but it's certainly suggestive of species that were further south moving northward, because we've seen a couple of them for two years in a row now." Glotzhober says.
Gratifying as all the new state and county records can be, Glotzhober seems just as pleased that the volunteer program is introducing all kinds of people to the great diversity of dragonfly species in Ohio.
"And that's the exciting thing about it, because you know, it may be difficult to get a good photograph or collect a specimen, but to see them is easy, they're just very easy to observe because they're flying around in the open sunshine." Says Glotzhober.
In 1997, this loose group of dragonfly enthusiasts came together to form the Ohio Odonota Society. The society is always looking for new members, and all you need to be a dragonfly citizen scientist is a camera. . . and a high tolerance for sunny days.
Jonathan Hickman, WOSU News
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